What does Werkstatt 533 mean?

The German to English translation: Werkstatt – n. workshop, shop in which work is carried out; garage, place where cars are repaired and serviced; studio, workroom of an artist.

We wanted our named to describe what we do, where we do it, and how we do it. We work on German (and other European) cars, at 533 6th Ave NW, and it an artistry that we’re passionate about.

Who We Are

We’re a family-oriented small business whose main objective is to offer personalized, quality service to local drivers of European vehicles. Not only that, but we’re community focused and strive to be quality contributors to the greater Rochester Area.

Dave Colestock, our owner, is no stranger to this industry. Starting with an interest in Street Rods around 1980, he learned about fabrication, design, and building ground-up customs. During his college years, he worked at a European Imports shop gaining experience with BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Volvo, Saab, Fiat, Aplha Romeo, Maserati, Rolls Royce, MG, Austin Healy, Triumph, Morris, Lotus, DeLorean, and more. Dave even ran his own shop from 1999 to 2013 in Ames, Iowa before moving his family to Rochester and opening Werkstatt 533 in January 2014.

What We Do

We service, drive, and obsess over German (and other European-made) vehicles. Why? They embrace (in no particular order) design, engineering, and technology in a way no one else does. They are a gestalt experience. A mix of passion and technology. While the majors (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, & Volkswagen) all have their own distinct character, they all have in common a Teutonic quality that is most appropriately manifested in a driving machine. That’s why we love to work on them as much as you love to drive them.

Why We’re Different

We’re not your typical auto shop. We’ve designed a unique, well-designed, fully equipped facility that allows us to offer premium options to you, our customer. Not only that, we also get to know you personally in order to understand your specific needs before offering the most appropriate solution.

We’re a small, family-owned business with an open shop in which all are welcome. We want you to get to know us as much as we want to get to know you. To start, we’re neat freaks. We listen to Jazz/Funk and Classical. We grill out on Fridays.

The Competition

Competition? What competition? Seriously though. We don’t feel that other service facilities are our competition. They are colleagues in our industry. We don’t try to compete. No blowout specials, no bait and switch, no coupons. We strive to act in the best interest of our clients and offer the highest value we can. We want to be part of your team — to work with you to find solutions to your needs that make sense for you. It is not our goal to determine the cheapest solutions to your needs. If you’re looking for the lowest price in town, in may not be here. We go for the best value.